Felix Fresh, part of the Felix Project, hosted a successful free food distribution event in Walthamstow at the end of January.
The Felix Project is London’s largest food redistribution charity, and they teamed up with Waltham Forest Council and GLL Partnerships to deliver this event at Walthamstow Leisure Centre on Tuesday 27 January.
Felix Fresh has two missions: ‘no Londoner should go hungry’ and ‘no good food should go to waste’. The team rescues high quality surplus food which would otherwise be thrown away and redistributes it.
The event was open to everyone, destigmatising the process of collecting free food.
The location was selected due to its high residential neighbourhood and proximity to Waltham Forest Council’s Queens Road Family Hub and Kelmscott School.
Some highlights from the event included:
Over 250 households supported
38 people attended the Warm Space before the food event, receiving free hot drinks and playing table tennis
10 pallets and four tonnes of food provided
Owing to the success of the event, there will be another session on Tuesday 17 February, at Walthamstow Leisure Centre, between 12 noon and 2pm.
Felix Fresh Co-ordinator, Daniel Hobson, said, "Felix Fresh markets are free food events where everyone from the community is invited to come and grab fresh fruit and veg that would have otherwise gone to waste. The event at Walthamstow Leisure Centre was a great success where we managed to hand out four tonnes of food ranging from parsnips to bananas, the weather (sort of) held off long enough to not wipe the smiles off our faces! Looking forward to future events with the Waltham Forest team."
Councillor Kizzy Gardiner, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said, "This is a great example of local organisations working together to support residents in a practical way. Huge thanks to The Felix Project and GLL for making it happen."